Golf Events / Paul Krishnamurty / 10 March 2010 /

Last year's runner-up is a value contender, the Goose chases gold and Stricker deserves to be favourite. Paul Krishnamurty makes his picks from the first-round 3-balls at Doral.

16.46 - Nick Watney @ [2.5] (vs Schwartzel, Toms)

Last year's runner-up Nick Watney can be considered a little unlucky to have bumped into Phil Mickelson on that occasion, as nobody else ever got close. He's been playing pretty well for months without making any headlines, and looks a strong contender back at an ideal venue, where his trademark huge hitting is a key asset.

Nick certainly looks the strongest of this trio. David Toms had a fine Doral record at his peak, but his 2010 efforts to date have been very disappointing. And while Charl Schwartzel has the form and long game to compete, he's very inexperienced on these tricky Bermuda greens and was well beaten on his sole previous visit.

16.56 - Retief Goosen @ [3.4] (vs Mickelson, McIlroy)

By all accounts, Doral's greens are very receptive this year and with thunderstorms forecast, the course should play pretty soft. That should play to the strengths of the ever-consistent Retief Goosen, who finished second when we last saw pick and place conditions at Doral in 2008. After top-10s on six of his last eight outings, the Goose seems likely to give supporters a run, whatever the market.

Winning this 3-ball will be far from straightforward against such illustrious opponents as McIlroy and defending champion Mickelson, but the odds represent good value because neither player is exactly unbeatable right now. Mickelson has failed on seven of his nine previous Doral visits and hasn't been at his best this year as yet, while McIlroy struggled last week.

17.38 - Alvaro Quiros @ [2.8] (vs Singh, Crane)

Another huge-hitter who could make hay on this relatively exposed course is Alvaro Quiros, who has got himself into contention at some stage on every strokeplay outing this year. Furthermore, Quiros took the eye on last year's course debut, finishing 13th on a layout that usually takes some learning.

Neither opponent in this 3-ball is expected to take that much beating. While last week's fourth place in the Honda Classic demonstrated that Vijay's long game still cuts the mustard, watching him putt is a painful experience. That really doesn't bode well for this putting contest. The third member of this trio, Ben Crane, has performed only moderately at best on three previous Doral visits.

17.59 Steve Stricker @ [2.36] (vs Els, Garcia)

Steve Stricker must rate a massive favourite against these two struggling opponents. After four wins in nine months, and barely ever missing from a leaderboard during that period, Stricker actually looks a more suitable tournament favourite than Mickelson.

In contrast, I don't rate either Els or Garcia's chances at all this week. Both are having a terrible time with the putter, and are likely to get left behind in this birdie-fest.

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